STELLARTON – Many people who encounter poor customer service with tell their friends. Some might write to the company and complain. Dave Carroll, however, wrote a song.
United Breaks Guitars tells the tale of his experience with the American airline, which smashed his $3,500 guitar in transport and, after nine months of being bounced from customer service agent to customer service agent, was told the airline refused to take responsibility for the damages. He decided it was time to take a stand and emailed the customer service department to inform them he was writing three songs about his experience and offer them free for download on Youtube.
“I learned if you’re going to make a stand and want people to listen, you need to find a creative way. The smartest thing I did was making my song funny and non-confrontational. If it was angry, people wouldn’t have listened.”
When the first video was launched last July, it was an instant success, sparking more than 150,000 views on the day of its release. Since the three videos were released, more than 8 million people have viewed them. But more than that, it’s a tale that strikes a chord with people, Carroll said. Every day, he gets e-mails about his trio of songs, with most people sharing their own tale of customer service woes.
“United Breaks Guitars is really a metaphor for a whole bunch of businesses with poor customer service.
“People need to correct their own businesses and treat their customers with respect.”
That’s the message he sent to tourism operators gathered Thursday evening at the Pictou County Tourist Association’s gala awards dinner, where he was invited to speak about his experiences since United Breaks Guitars was released.
“I don’t get bad customer service,” he said. “People use their money and their free time to come and see you - by choice. Why would you treat anyone but like gold?”
It’s something Carroll himself has experience with. Nowadays, his career has reached through the Internet.
“The implications of this are huge – in ways the music industry doesn’t understand,” he said. “The old model is on the way out. Social media can reach the consumer directly, allowing them to make forums and fan groups where they can talk directly to the artist.”
